Oakland, CA
1/20/01
Gibbs

January 20, 2001, President Bill Clinton left office after a full two terms in office. His record is mixed, but in California, most see his time in office as a time of prosperity and exuberance.

Across the nation various rallies took place on the day of George W. Bush's inauguration; many protesters almost mourned Clinton's departure and the Bush arrival, while the Republicans were partying at the return of the White House to their political party.

For the protesters, the mood was as if Clinton had not actually served his two terms. Not only was that mood present, but there was a mood that blamed Al Gore for letting Bush and the Republicans get back into the White House. Indeed, some expressed the idea that Gore should have enlisted the campaign support of Clinton, and he would have won and he could have carried on the legacy of Bill Clinton.

A few people did openly blame Al Gore for losing the election and letting the Clintons down. Many expressed an outrage that Bush could be in office on a court technicality.

When Gibbs asked a number of people about why Blacks generally supported Clinton in large numbers and consistently, the answer was just about uniform: Clinton was from a small town and humble background; furthermore, he is brilliant but not elitist with his intellect or his position--he is down to earth.

The retired President of Laney College was interviewed at the Oakland Museum Saturday, and he said that Bill Clinton was from a humble background and many people, especially Black people, relate to that background. "I suppose that a lot of it had to do with what we, as a Black community, heard of him relative to appointments to various positions in the [Federal] government. I have heard that he has appointed more Black people to the positions in the government than all other presidents combined. When he was in Arkansas as a young governor, one of my in-laws had a sister working in his cabinet, and they told me of this young White man who really had an affinity to working with Black people."

The affinity aspect of Clinton was one that resonated among Blacks and Whites, as they grieved his departure and the arrival of the second coming of Bush. But some people were just scared of Bush and the Republicans being in office and in power.

Whatever the reasons were that many had, there was a general sadness that was present at protest rallies and at social gatherings we attended to interview citizens on the departure of the Clintons and the arrival of the Bush family. []